Background: The neutrophil to lymphocyte count ratio (NLCR) is used to assess systemic inflammation, and is a prognostic marker in various acute infections as well as inflammatory diseases. In adults it was found to be superior to leukocytosis & C-reactive protein (CRP) for predicting bacteremia in the emergency department, with high sensitivity and specificity values.
Objective: To determine the potential predictive power of the (NLCR) as a marker of serious bacterial infection (SBI) in hospitalized febrile infants aged one week to 3 months.
Patients and Methods: Data of blood counts, cultures, and CRP were collected in a retrospective cohort of infants aged 1 week to 3 months, who were hospitalized with fever, from 2012 to 20014. Patients were divided into two groups by the finding of positive or negative cultures.
Preliminary Results: A total of 1393 infants met the inclusion criteria, of whom 125 had a SBI. Five hundred and ninety eight infants (371 males, 227 females) completed a full sepsis work up, 89 (53 males, 36 females) had positive cultures, of which: 1 suffered from bacterial meningitis, 10 from bacteremia and 82 from urinary tract infections. The mean age at hospital admission was 35 days. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and receiver operating characteristic analysis will be calculated for different NLCR values. Results will be compared to other inflammation markers such as CRP, White blood cell count and absolute neutrophil count.
Discussion: The NLCR value may be a significant tool in identifying young infants with SBI
